Mark’s Stuff

-=[ DAY NINE- Sun 18th June ]=-

Compared to yesterday, the third day if walking was easy. It was a fairly gradual uphill with spectacular views of the Andean ranges, over Phuyapatamarka Pass at 3800m and down to the impressive Phuyapatamarka ruins.

A knee-shattering 1200m descent down to 2600m got us to Wiñaywayna camp - the last camp before Machu Picchu. Since we were a camp or two in front of most other groups we arrived at lunch whilst other trekkers we arriving in dribs and drabs until sunset.

Being close to civilisation again, Wiñaywayna has a hospital, restaurant, bar and hot showers. I skipped the shower, electing to wait until back in the hotel, but Darren, Bob and myself couldn’t help but down a couple of out-of-date Cusquenas.

-=[ OUR PORTERS ]=-

This evening we were re-introduced to our porters, and presented them with their envelope of tips. It was nice to hear what each of them was carrying as well as what their assigned duties were - from carrying our duffel bags to the 9kg gas bottle and stove. From preparing fabulous meals to ensuring we had a bowl of warm water when we woke up in the morning. They all did an absolutely fantastic job.
And somehow our chef Carlos managed to produce a meal that we were talking about the previous day. From spaghetti bolognaise to lomo soltado and even jelly!.

< Inca Trail - Day 2 | Machu Picchu >

-=[ DAY EIGHT- Sat 17th June ]=-

Second day of the Inca Trail, and for our group definitely the toughest. Right from the start we were climbing stone steps - always up, never flat, never down - from 3400m to Dead Woman’s Pass at 4200m. Toward the end I was resting every 10-15 steps, gasping in the thin air and looking back at 100 other walkers and porters doing the same. As soon as I stepped on the level ground at the pass, I was greeted with a wall of cloud, blocking from view the steep downhill that awaited.

Having regrouped, recovered, and taken the obligatory photos, it was all downhill to lunch at 3600m at the Paqaymayo campsite, where most others would be spending the night. But not us. Instead we trudged onwards and upwards past the Runkuraqay ruins and over the 4000m Runkuraqay High Pass and back down even more steps to the Sayacmarka ruins. As sunset approached, and our calves and knees were feeling the the eleven hours of walking today, we elected not to climb the steps up to the ruins, and instead descended down to our second camp at Chakiqocha.

< Inca Trail - Day 1 | Inca Trail - Day 3 >

-=[ DAY SEVEN - Fri 16th June ]=-

Surprise, surprise, another early wakeup call, this time to meet our two Inca Trail compatriots for the bus trip to the trail head at Chilca, just 2km shy of Kilometer 82. In the photo from left to right; Kirsty, me, Darren, Bob, Julie & Cindy.

The first day on the trail saw everyone in high sprits, making good pace along the steady incline upwards from about 2800m above sea level to our camp at Yunkachimpa about 600m higher than KM82.

Jeremy had us walk the extra distance one camp further than most other groups so our campsite wasn’t so crowded.
Upon arriving into camp our 12 porters greeted us all with clapping and cheering. Even though they arrived into camp about 2 hours earlier and were each carrying about 25kg of equipment on their backs!

< Ollantaytambo | Inca Trail - Day 2 >

-=[ DAY SIX - Thur 15th June ]=-

This morning we (once again) were up bright and early for a bus ride into Ollantaytambo and the Sacred Valley. On the way we also stopped at a local community that GAP has been working with to help educate the locals. They were mostly women and children there working with textiles, and their husbands mostly away working as porters. All the Peruvians we have met so far have been extremely friendly, and these villagers were no exception.

Other stops along the way included a walk around the ruins of Pisco, which was our first real training run the Inca Trail (although looking back it was nothing!), and also a visit to a local Chicha house to try their locally brewed corn beer, usually served in a one litre glass. It´s a very refreshing drink and popular amongst porters on the trail when its available.
We also stopped by a llama and alpaca farm before our tour of the ruins at Ollantaytambo. We’ve seen so many ruins already that I forget their Quechuan names. But they never get any less impressive.

< Cuzco | Inca Trail - Day 1 >

-=[ DAY FIVE - Wed 14th June ]=-

Once again an early wake up call had us packing our bags for the return trip to Puerto Maldonado, and then onto Cuzco. Kirsty & I have a habit of turning up at places in the middle of festivals - in this case the start of celebrations for the winter solstice. As a result a lot of the streets of Cuzco were closed to traffic, including the one our hotel was on. Instead it was lined with dozens of food stalls selling mostly beer and roasted guinea pigs - an Andean favourite.

Without too much time to relax, we were straight into a city tour, seeing some of the Incan ruins around the outskirts of Cuzco. I’m pretty much ruined out, and forgot the names of most of the ruins, but one that sticks in my mind is Saqsayhuaman, which is Quechuan for ’satiated hawk’, or something of the like. It is pronounced ‘Sex-ay woa-man’, or for us westerners just ‘Sexy Woman’.

In the evening, we met our Inca Trail guide Jeremy, as well as Bob & Darren who would be joining us the trail.

< Sandoval Lake | Ollantaytambo >

-=[ DAY FOUR - Tue 13th June ]=-

Up bright and early this morning for a canoe trip around the lake, spotting many birds including hoaxins, herons and snake birds. We also stopped a while to watch the giant otters feeding and playing. Just before getting off the boat, right near the pier we spotted a caiman lying in the shallows.

After brekky our new guide Julian took us on a jungle walk spotting all sorts of camouflaged fauna, and telling us about the different plants and trees in the area, with all the poisonous and medicinal properties.

It was absolutely amazing how he could spot tiny frogs and butterflies which the rest of use could hardly pick out looking through the telescope which he lines up for us!

< Puerto Maldonado | Cuzco >

-=[ DAY THREE - Mon 12th June ]=-

Woke up at 6am to get ready for a 10am flight from Lima to Puerto Maldonado, via a quick passenger drop-off and pick-up at Cuzco. After a short bus trip into town we put most of our luggage into storage, bringing only what was necessary for the jungle. We were all fitted with gumboots and headed into a motor boat for a tasty lunch of fried rice as we headed Eastward down the Madre de Dios toward Lake Sandoval. A 3km hike throught a slochy mud trail took us to the lake, then we got into canoes to go across to the eco-friendly Lake Sandoval lodge.

On the canoe ride we spotted numerous birds as well as a troop of around 50 squirrel monkeys, followed by a family of 11 giant otters.The lodge was very comfortable, and most of the food was caught locally or grown in the vegetable garden.Our guide Oscar took led us on a jungle walk after dark in search of critters - mainly spiders. We were rewarded at the end of the tour, only about 15m from the lodge, with a good sized tarantula.

< Lima Day 2 | Sandoval Lake >

-=[ DAY TWO - Sun 11th June ]=-

Second day in Lima, and our first full day to have a look around. We actually woke up in time to get breakfast this morning. Heading out for a walk down the coast, we were met with a group of about 30-50 keen cyclists all wearing the same t-shirts, obviously out for a morning ride. Over the next hour or so, cyclists kept coming - must have been at least a thousand of them! Obviously some sort of organised thing.

The ordinary weather, cold water, dumping surf and pebbled beach didn’t stop anyone getting out there on surfboards. Not too far away there were also a handful of spear-fishermen, who looked like they were out there for the necessity of putting food on the table, rather than for the sport of it.

Our enjoyable walk along the coast line came to a sudden halt when I was waiting to cross the road, and the heavens opened to saturate me. I looked up. It wasn’t rain. There was a flock of gulls perched on the power lines above that all seemingly decided to target me (and my only jacket) at once. Straight back to the hotel room for a rinse off. Luckily polar fleece cleans easy and dries quickly!

< Lima Day 1 | Puerto Maldonado >

-=[ DAY ONE - Sat 10th June ]=-

I’ve been told by Kirsty to stop making jokes about bad things happening. After an eight hour stop-over in Santiago, paying US$18 each to use the LAN lounge and its facitilies (snacks, drinks, internet, luke-warm shower) we arrive in Lima just before midnight. Unfortunately our bags decided to spend a bit more time sight-seeing around the baggage handling facilities at Sydney airport. With any luck we will see them tonight. After a sleep-in this afternoon (and being woken by trucks working outside the hotel window) we went for a walk to Huaca Pucllana, a pre-Inca temple and sacrificial tomb right in the heart of Lima in Miraflores.

We met with the GAP group this evening, but it seems that we were a day early, and out group was meeting the following day. I thought I´d booked an extra day in Lima! We followed the traffic and bright lights into a bustling late night shopping area looking for a place to eat. We walked by Pizza Hut, KFC, Burger King, another Pizza Hut, MacDonalds, a Sizzler-type buffet called Norky’s. Eventually strolling up a dark alleyway we happened across Pizza St - a narrow paved walkway lined with potted trees and in-your-face hawkers selling their menus. We made a choice and had a couple of pretty good pasta dishes. With gratis limonate y pisco sour. Total of S/30, or about AU$12.

< Begin | Lima Day 2 >

-=[ Before the Trip ]=-

It seemed a long way off when I picked up the tickets back in February, but the months have just screamed past and in 24 hours time Kirsty & I will be looking down on the Pacific Ocean en route to Lima, Peru.The idea here is to update this travel diary whenever I get a chance at an internet kiosk along the way, and hopefully also be able to post a few photos as well.

Lima Day 1 >